Man Arrested After Stealing Sony Ericsson Prototype Phones

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A 35-year-old man in Sweden stole a batch of prototype phones from Sony Ericsson’s Lund offices earlier this week, and was then promptly arrested, Engadget Mobile reports.

Police apprehended the suspect on Wednesday at his home after they found the stolen prototypes, plus about 100 other handsets, on the premises. “According to Sony Ericsson, the man was not an employee but had a ‘working relationship’ with the company,” the report said, “and apparently used a pass card to gain entry to the building.”

Police also confiscated a laptop and pinned the total value of the theft at around $90,000 US. It’s unclear what the man planned to do with the stolen prototypes, although they would certainly be valuable to competing cell phone makers. A related IT World report said that news of the theft came directly from the police; Sony Ericsson is staying quiet on the matter.